Path of Flowers
by hangman1
Summary: After being slain at the hands of the Keyblade Master, the Graceful Assassin is plucked from Nothingness by an unknown force. His task is simple; protect 'the boy'. Trial's lie in wait for Naruto Uzumaki. It's up to Marluxia to protect him. No Yaoi...
1. Incomplete

**Path of Flowers**

**Life isn't always easy. It has its ups, and of course downs. And let's not forget the complete and utter all-time-lows. Being attacked by tiny dark creatures then being saved and nearly killed by a pink-haired man with a massive scythe is one of the later. But then again, I'm not complaining… Who would, I get a cool sensei!**

**Part I- Incomplete**

* * *

_Darkness…_

_It felt like being born again. As my heart was clouded by darkness and my very essence of being came into affect. But this time there was no Xigbar or Xaldin to find me._

_Sora._

_He'd probably have killed them by now. Like how he killed me. Now I think about it, maybe he even killed Xemnas. Rather ironic. He will be destroyed by the one thing he sought to obtain; the Keyblade._

_I never had enough strength to defeat Xemnas. Was I really so blind and vain to misread Axel's trust? He was betraying me the moment he killed Vexen._

_Will I be in this everlasting darkness forever? Though I cannot see… Nor feel… Nor even imagine my surroundings… I am… At peace…?_

Slowly, the fuchsia haired man opened one amber eye. Sun shone down on him, filtered by the evergreen trees.

Blinking, he opened both eyes. He strained to move his arm, managing to old it above his face. It was the same as it had been back in Castle Oblivion. He wore the same black coat, and the same gloves.

He was… Alive…?

He quickly sat up, and surveyed his surroundings. He sat in a small clearing in the middle of a wood, reminding him of the woods in Twilight town, where he had first guided Roxas.

He winced. Roxas. It should have been obvious that he was Sora's Nobody. He held the Kingdom Key, just like Sora, and used it in the same reckless fighting style, relying on instinct alone.

Pondering for a moment, he held out his arm, and then pushed as much energy as he could muster into his hand. At once, pink light surrounded his hand, stretching out into a long thin handle, then curving into a fine sharp blade, rose petals falling from the vibrant scythe's form. The Graceful Dahlia. His weapon. A slow smile curved on his lips.

As he withdrew energy, he watched the scythe change into its various forms; Fickle Erica, Jilted Anemone, Poor Melissa, Pseudo Silene, Grim Muscari, Vindictive Thistle, Hallowed Lotus, and so on.

Getting to his feet, he quickly brushed the dust off his coat, and ran his fingers through his vibrant hair. Though it seemed impossible beyond belief, though he remembered clearly falling into the darkness, he was most certainly alive.

'_You are wrong, Graceful Assassin…_' murmured a soft voice.

Marluxia froze. He made a motion as if to turn, to see who spoke, but instantly felt his muscles clench, preventing movement.

'_Don't turn… My appearance is not what it used to be…'_

A slight smile appeared on Marluxia's face. "Oh? And why should that bother you?"

'_You may joke, Graceful Assassin, but you are undoubtedly dead…'_

Marluxia laughed. "Dead? You surely joke! Nobodies disappear when they die, that is commonly known! If I am dead, who can I be in this forest? You are a fool!"

The voice laughed. _'Tread carefully, Marluxia… You are in the realm of the Soulless…'_

He raised a feathery eyebrow. "Soulless?"

'_Heartless mindlessly collect hearts for the purpose of constructing the ultimate goal; Kingdom Hearts… The Organisation sought to create Kingdom Hearts for the purpose of becoming whole. You wished for a heart… But the power of Kingdom Hearts remains unexplained to you all…' _the voice paused. _'Unknown to the Organisation, a breed of heartless began to form at the farthest reaches of the universe, unreachable even by the Corridors of Darkness… This is where you now stand…'_

Marluxia's eyes widened. "I… I am further than the Corridors of Darkness? How is that possible?!"

'_Though it took me many years, I managed to recover your soul from the depths of nothingness… With my power I constructed your body, and gave you part of what you wished to obtain…'_

Like a sudden shot from a gun, Marluxia fell to his knees, clutching his chest, pain contorting his face. He felt it. The continuous beat of the organ which Nobodies sought to obtain; a heart.

'_It is incomplete… If you succeed, you shall gain a full heart…'_

A grin appeared on his face. "What do I have to do?"

The voice allowed itself another pause. _'Protect the boy. If you bond with him, the 13 elements which all Nobodies control will unfold around him. You will be his guardian, thus part of his soul. Though his soul is clouded by another. A force which even Xemnas could not hope to destroy. The Soulless.'_

Marluxia grit his teeth. "What are these soulless…"

'…_You have no time…'_ cut in the voice. _'You must go. Do not let the Beast break the door… Though it is locked, the key is in misguided hands… If the beast is awoken, the Grand Soulless will return…'_

Marluxia spun round, only to see an empty clearing.

'_Your task is hard… But do not be afraid. In the past your judgement was wrong. Do the right thing. And don't forget… Protect… The boy…'_

Silence flooded the clearing. The man was perplexed; Soulless? Beasts? This was all too confusing. And yet this _thing_ had recovered him from nothingness? How was that possible?

He touched his chest, and again felt the slow beat of his heart. He had a heart. He had finally beaten Xemnas. But of course, the voice had told him that he was not complete. He still needed to protect this 'boy'.

But how would he know who this 'boy' was, even if he did see him?

He looked up at the filtered sky, staring at the small clouds drifting over head. It seemed as though today would be very peaceful…

A scream echoed around the forest, breaking the illusion. Marluxia's amber eyes stared in the direction of the sound. Pulling his hood up, he began a slow run towards the sound.

XXX

I always believed that one day I would gain the respect I deserved. Of course, being an orphaned kid with the reputation of a sewer rat didn't help.

Sure, I would try to make friends, but most of them pushed me away. Except for the old man of course. And even Iruka-sensei! Both of them are my friends! But apart from them, who else in the village likes me?

If I wanted to become the greatest Hokage ever, I'd need strength and respect. The latter was the hardest part, so I thought I'd work on the strength first.

Sneaking out of the village was no problem for a master trickster like me, and training in the woods was the perfect location to build up my strength. My dream would come true. I would become the greatest Hokage ever.

For three months after joining the Konoha Ninja Academy, I trained in secret in Konoha woods, simply practicing my aim, my stamina and my taijutsu. In stamina, I am unrivalled! But I need lots of work on the other two…

I knew I was worthless at most ninja skills, and brainless in the classroom, but I did believe, deep down, that one day a special something would just hit me. That day was closer than I thought…

It happened all of a sudden, when I was impaling a training dummy with blunt kunai. My accuracy was still rather low, and I only managed to hit 4 vital spots on the dummy, the other kunai hitting the arms, legs, or even falling pointlessly to the ground.

Letting out a deep sigh, I crumpled to the ground, and stared up at the sky. I was feeling really peaceful, and of course tired after training for hours, so I wondered if I deserved a nap. What followed would prevent me from having such a luxury.

My ninja trained senses tingling, I sat up immediately. I stared wildly around. Though I may have just been paranoid, I was sure something had just been staring right at me. I shrugged it off. Perhaps it was just a deer or a rabbit.

But nevertheless, the unease remained, so I leapt up to my feet, retrieved my training kunai and began to walk back in the direction of the village. As I walked, whispers seemed to follow.

'_Key…'_

'_Heart…'_

'_Heartless…'_

'_Soulless…'_

'_Nobodies…'_

'_Keyblade…'_

'_Xemnas…'_

'_Ansem…'_

'_Roxas…'_

'_Sora…'_

As the whispers continued, I got more confused. Xemnas? Roxas? Sora?! Who were these people? They were obviously names, but why were they in my head.

Lost in thought, I didn't notice the hole in the path. And of course, I tripped. As I fell, my knee slammed into a sharp rock, leaving a sharp cut. I yelled in pain, then clutched my limb, gritting my teeth in pain.

In the trees, a twig snapped. I looked up from my bleeding limb, as leaves fell down from the trees. Now I was scared. Someone, or something, was following me. Ignoring my pain, I stood up, and began to limp back along the path. As I walked, the sound of leaves rustling, and creatures _clicking_ filled my ears, drowning out all other sound.

Then it fell upon me. I was knocked off my feet, and pushed onto my back. A tiny little creature stared at me with bulbous yellow eyes, its antenna prodding my chest on which it sat. Its sharp claws dug into my chest. Yet it was hard to make the creature out, as its dark, ebony complexion made it out to be some sort of moving shadow.

I yelled, and tried to swat the shadow away, only for my hand to pass right through its body. I screamed, terrified, my eyes darting wildly around, looking, _longing _for help.

What I saw filled my heart with dread. More of the shadows were appearing, crawling towards me like grotesque spiders, there bulbous eyes locked on me.

I was helpless! I couldn't move! I felt their tiny clawed hands scraping against my arms and my legs, digging into my flesh. Was I going to drown amongst the bodies of these tiny beings?

"**Aero.**"

A blast of what seemed to be wind slammed into me, causing all the creatures to fly up into the air, then fall down at a slow pace, as though immune to the affects of gravity. Before I could move, a tall figure appeared, wearing a long black coat with a deep hood covering his face. A silver necklace hung around the coat's neck, with some king of emblem attached. In his hands was a massive scythe, green and pink in colour, with touches of gold.

"I'm guessing you're that boy…" he muttered, with a hint of distaste. He held out his free hand towards the living shadows in the air. "**Bloom.**"

Thorns shot out all the creature's bodies, tearing their dark skin apart, before they faded to dust.

From their remains, rose petals fell from the sky.

I stared, amazed at my saviour's power. He looked down at me, his face obscured by the hood. He took my hand, then pulled me to my feet. "What's your name boy?" he muttered.

"N-Naruto… Naruto Uzumaki…"

He pulled back the hood letting his vibrant pink hair flow. His amber eyes locked with my cerulean blue ones. "It's nice to meet you, Naruto… I am Marluxia."

**00000000000000**

**DONE! My first Kingdom Hearts-Naruto story chapter! Wow… It's rather long for a prologue… Maybe I should cut it… Nah, can't be bothered. Hope ya'll like it!**

**Hangman1 **


	2. Guardian

**Path of Flowers**

**Part II- Guardian**

**0000000000000**

Marluxia knelt down and examined Naruto's leg injury. "It's just a dirty cut… No trace of infection…" he touched it lightly with one finger causing Naruto to wince in pain. "**Cure.**"

At once, the cut began to seal up, even faster than Marluxia had anticipated. This kid WAS odd…

Marluxia turned, walking towards a nearby tree, then cutting off some thick branches with his scythe.

Naruto stared, transfixed at him. Not only had Marluxia destroyed those little creatures in an instant, he had also seemed to have taken an interest in him!

Marluxia tossed the logs in front of Naruto, then widened his hand, pointing his palm directly at the logs. "**Fire.**"

In a blaze of light, a small orange sphere shot towards the logs, igniting on contact. Naruto jumped at the sudden flare of light, his eyes glazing over. "Can you teach me how to do that?!"

Marluxia cocked his head. "Perhaps…"

"So who are you anyway? I've never seen a ninja like you before!"

Marluxia raised an eyebrow. "Ninja? You are not being serious…" a soft smile appeared on his face. "I am far greater than any common assassin…"

Naruto grinned. "Really?! Could you teach me?!"

'_Protect the boy…'_

Marluxia closed his eyes. "I don't believe you realise the importance of our meeting, Naruto…"

The boy cocked his head, a confused look on his face.

"… I am a Nobody, one who blends into the surroundings, holding no emotions." He laughed. "Of course, I shouldn't be a real Nobody anymore…"

"Nobody? Is that like the ANBU or something?"

Marluxia smiled. "I have never heard of this 'ANBU' you speak of, but obviously it is a custom held in your world… I am however someone who is bound to you…" he brought his gloved hand up to his lips, then bit down on his index finger, pulling the glove off. He discarded the black clothing, then again brought his hand up to his lips, and bit his thumb. Checking it to make sure the blood was flowing, he made a motion at Naruto. "Bite your thumb."

The boy jumped slightly. "What?! Why would I do that?"

Marluxia glared. "Do you want my help?"

The boy scowled, but bit his thumb anyway, letting the gory liquid flow.

Marluxia allowed himself a slight smile. "Very good…" he held out his hand, giving Naruto a motion to do the same. He pressed his thumb against Naruto's, then let the blood mix. He had wondered what this process was like, but never had desired its usage.

Heart bonding was risky, but was preformed by children on a common basis. And of course, with Marluxia's ability, the result would be rather interesting. No doubt if Vexen was alive, he'd die to see the result (No pun intended.)

A slight muscular spasm caused Marluxia to double over, his hand grabbing his chest, pain burning inside of him.

"A-are you okay?!" cried Naruto. To Marluxia's relief, he didn't remove his hand.

"G-Good…" he whispered. "It's nearly complete… Naruto, I'm sorry to tell you that you're about to go through a world of pain…"

"Wha-?" Naruto screamed. His body felt like fire. With every heartbeat his chest went through a spasm of pure unmerciful pain.

"Almost…" muttered Marluxia. He let out a gasp, then before Naruto's eyes, he disappeared.

The blonde's pain vanished. He slowly got to his feet, and looked around, wondering where the vibrant haired man had disappeared too.

"You have a strong heart…"

Naruto spun round. Marluxia was behind him, though he didn't seem like he had moments ago. His skin, clothes and even weapon had a transparent glow about them, like a stained glass window.

"That hurt more than was expected…" he cracked his shoulders, then stood erect, looking down at Naruto. "We have bonded."

"B-bonded…?"

"Established a link between hearts. The process is used in some worlds to establish love and faithfulness, and used in others as a token of brotherhood. But for us, it's simply a guardian and idiot bond…"

Naruto took a while for the insult to sink in, before his face contorted in a scowl. "Hey! I'm not an idiot!"

Marluxia gave him a dry grin. "That much is certain…" he examined his arm, then looked uncaringly at the small wound on his thumb. With a simple **cure** spell, the thing vanished.

"So what is this 'heart bonding' thingie…?" asked Naruto.

Marluxia sighed. "Are you deaf as well as dumb? It's a bond between Hearts. In this case, it was establishing an unseen like between strong a weak hearts. You heart was stronger, so it took dominance over mine. In simple terms, I'm like an imaginary friend, you can see me, but others can't. We have an unseen link. Of course, since you have a stronger heart, you can reveal the link be speaking my name."

"You mean… Like a summon?" said Naruto. He of course knew about summoning contracts such as the Snake, Slug and Toad, belonging to the three Sannin of the leaf, but he'd never heard of a contract between two humans.

"Correct. If you simply call me 'Marluxia', I will be brought into the physical world, and undoubtedly will have to kill a threat to save your life. Never summon me for typical reasons. I'll always be by your side, even if you can't see me. So call me Eleven while I'm not physical."

"Eleven? That seems pretty dumb…"

Marluxia narrowed his eyes. "Eleven bears significance towards me… So please do not make jokes about my chosen name. He knelt down so his face was level with Naruto's. "Those creatures which attacked you are known as Heartless… And if they are here, it can only mean one thing."

Naruto was unnerved by the emotionless tone Marluxia boar.

"The end of the world itself…"

Naruto's eyes widened. "Y-You can't be serious…"

"Oh, but I am, my silly little student… They _eat_ worlds, and destroy the inhabitants… They exist for the purpose of liberating hearts and sending them back to the Abyss…" he smiled. "With my help, you'll be able to fight them. And of course complete those silly little goal's you have in that large head of yours… Hokage… Interesting, what is the Hokage exactly?"

Naruto jumped back. "A-Are you reading my mind?!"

Marluxia tapped his nose. "Bonding…"

"B-But…" Naruto began to scrape his mind for an argument. "Why can't I read yours?!"

Marluxia shrugged. "I simply closed the book in my head. You are so obvious it's more like a report than a book… It would take years to help you fix that obvious mind of yours… Truly, you are just like Axel."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Axel?"

"A former comrade." muttered Marluxia, bitterly. "He was also a layabout who liked sleeping more than working… Reading your memories you remind me of him in every way…"

Concern appeared in Naruto's face.

"But lucky for you, he was also impossibly strong…" Marluxia laughed. "He even managed to betray _me_ without my noticing it. So if you end up like him I may even feel rather proud. I might even stop calling you an idiot…"

He flicked Naruto's forehead, causing the small boy to fall onto his backside. "Ouch!"

"So now we have a deal kid…" he slipped the black glove back onto his hand, then held it out. "I help you in every way possible. I'll teach you, guide you, and may even save you. In return you do every little thing that I say. Get it?"

Naruto scowled. "Got it…"

Marluxia grinned. "Good."

There was a long eerie silence. "So… What now…?" asked Naruto, flatly.

Marluxia winced. "This is going to be harder than I imagined… Not only do you not have the brains to run from Heartless, you do not have the manner's to invite me back to your village. Surely you do not expect me to stay in the forest all night!"

Naruto sweat dropped. "Um… Yeah, sure…"

XXX

Marluxia looked around the small, worn down flat with distaste. "You live _here_…?"

Naruto chuckled. "It ain't really a palace, but I suppose its home."

The black clad man placed his index finger on the wall, then drew it back, examining the heavy layer of dust no on his glove. "Disgusting… If Castle Oblivion was like this I don't know what I'd have done…"

Naruto jumped onto the couch, staring eagerly at the man in front of him, as if waiting for something.

Marluxia caught his gaze, then cocked his head. "What? Do you expect me to juggle or something?"

Naruto laughed, but shook his head. "Weeelll… Do I get a cool scythe like yours?"

At this Marluxia burst out laughing. He held out his arm, summoning the pink and green weapon. "This is my scythe, the Graceful Dahlia… You honestly expect to gain something as powerful as this like a simple gift?" he regained his calm steely posture. "No. The thirteen weapons are given by a test of mentality found only in Nobodies." He shrugged. "But then again… You did bond with a Nobody…" he looked back at the blonde, who was staring hopefully at him. "Perhaps…"

He let the scythe disappear; causing petal's to appear in the air, then strode towards Naruto, crouching down in front of him, locking eyes.

He held out the dusty index finger, then prodded Naruto on the head. The boy let out a squeal in protest, before his eyes widened. Marluxia no longer sat in front of him. In fact, Marluxia, or even his flat, was nowhere to be seen. Instead 12 weapons lay around him.

He sat on a circular platform, of what looked to be made of stained glass. A pair of glowing blades, a sling-like weapon, a lance, a shield, a large axe-sword, a dusty tome, a claymore, circular spiked blades which resembled shuriken, a sitar, a deck of cards and some kunai. Each of the weapons was well spaced from each other, and above each was an emblem of sorts.

'_You have arrived in the realm of all that was…'_

Naruto spun round. "Who's there?!"

'_I am here… And there… And everywhere…' _the unseen figure was mocking him.

"Who are you?! Stop freaking me out!"

'_Who am I…? Perhaps I am one from the past, or perhaps I am what is to come… There is so very much to learn. You understand so little. A meaningless effort. One who knows nothing can understand nothing…'_

Naruto suddenly felt a hand touch his shoulder. Breaking from the figure's grip, he spun round. A tall cloaked man stared back at him through a large floppy hood which resembled Marluxia's gear.

'_Choose a weapon. This shall decide your fate…'_

Naruto stared wildly around, his gaze fixing on the axe-sword. Above it was a single rock, floating motionless in the endless darkness.

'_Axe-sword: a blade of power, strength to hold a nation on its back. If a single crack appears in your will, thou shall crumble to dust.'_

Immediately, he back away from the sword, instead looking at the Kunai. Above it was a lightning bolt symbol.

'_Knives: sharp and quick to resemble the temper. If you hesitate for a moment, your own hate will consume you.'_

"Urgh! Why is everything here so threatening?"

The figure laughed. He still hadn't moved since his appearance. '_I shall not attack until you choose a weapon. I am powerless until arms meet your grip.'_

Again, Naruto looked at all the weapons, surveying them carefully. He spotted in glowing blades, which held no emblem.

'_Ethereal blades: Nothing is power, while Power is Nothing. By embracing Nothing, you abandon everything.'_

"Ain't you a load of sunshine?!" yelled Naruto, flailing his arms out wide. In his anger, he'd knocked against one of the giant shuriken-weapons. Above them was a flame symbol.

'_You have chosen the Chakram: Flame of undying power. Courage fills your mind, but clouds your judgement. Without darkness, there can be no light. You have accepted this.'_

The blades suddenly vanished from there motionless spot, and appeared in his hands.

They felt hot to the touch, like freshly baked bread, containing a warmth that filled up his whole body.

The figure laughed. _'Brilliant!'_ a sword appeared in his hand. It was long and thin, around the size of a regular katana. The metal was ebony black with flecks of red and violet. Above the hilt guard was a golden eye-like jewel. '_Let me see your power!'_

Naruto griped the circular blades tightly. To be honest, he had no clue what he was doing. One second he was in his flat (That said he had brought a weird pink-haired guy with him) and the next second, he was on a weird circular platform.

The Chakram seemed light, as though made of paper, yet held firm in his grip like iron. When the figure rushed at him, then delivered a furious barrage of slashes, the movements seemed to simply appear in his head. Using the Chakram to block seemed simple, almost upon instinct.

The figure seemed to be enjoying it, his slashes suddenly getting more furious. _'The nature of your chosen weapon is flooding into you.'_

Before Naruto could say anything, the glass platform shattered, causing him to fall back. The figure watched him fall, standing in mid-air as if on solid ground, a misty veil like substance appearing under his feet. _'Your synchronisation is 93%... You may go on to the first trial…'_

Before Naruto could shout a barrage of insults at the disappearing figure, he connected with a new platform. As he landed, the Chakram instantly vanished. The platform itself showed a mural in stained glass, of a two teenage boy's standing back-to-back, one around 19 the other around 15. The older boy had spiked up red hair, and held the same Chakram's which Naruto had just used. His sea-foam green eyes were looking to his side, towards the younger blonde boy, who held a large key-shaped blade, with crown-like teeth. The boy was looking down, a solemn look on his face, his blue eyes half-closed in a lazy-like demeanour.

Around the platform were three pedestals, each holding a single floating item: A Sword, a Sceptre and a Shield.

"_This is the first test…_"

It wasn't a voice exactly. It seemed as though the words were being written inside Naruto's very head, imprinted like the pages of a book.

"_When presented with the choice you chose the path of flame. Many are wary of such a dangerous element…"_

"I didn't do it _deliberately_!" snapped Naruto. "I bumped into the freakin' thing!"

'_Perhaps… But there are no accidents in this universe. Nothing is black and white; only shades of grey. Believe in a simple mistake, or look to fate. That is your own choice. But these three items will not only affect fate, but destiny. Many who have reached this stage are driven mad with grief. The wrong decision will result in-"_

"Death, right…" muttered Naruto, dryly.

"_That is correct. The weapons before you belong to the chosen. Be you a Chosen, A Heartless, or a Nobody, these three weapons reflect your desires. The sword…_"

The silver blade began to glow upon its pedestal, the red hilt with the mouse-like emblem glowing eerily. _"The symbol of a warrior. A weapon of great destruction. The Sceptre…_"

The rod began to glow, the blue gem, similar to the emblem upon the sword glowing a pale green. _"The symbol of a Mystic. Wisdom of untold leagues."_

And finally the shield began to glow, this time with palest red. The ebony black emblem, again the same as the previous two weapons, was splashed right in the centre of the shield. "_The Shield. The symbol of a guardian. Defence to brace against any attack. Choose._"

Naruto stared at the three arms. Before he could eagerly grab the sword, a nagging in the back of his mind suddenly held him back. _–The wrong decision will result in death…-_

Slowly, he withdrew his hand, then moved it towards the shield instead. "I choose this…" he muttered.

'_You have chosen the path of the Guardian. You have synchronised with the Path of Fire. Now for your final test."_

Again the platform broke, like a mirror being splintered. As Naruto fell, he landed on a third platform, this time with three figures emblazoned in the glass. A raven haired man with a long pony-tail and narrow eyes, six lances surrounding him at uneven angles. A blonde man with short hair a small beard and a slight moustache, a grin on his young face, cards falling from his gloves hand. The final figure was very young, looking to be in his late teens, with a goofy grin on his face, a blue sitar strapped to his back. All of them wore the same cloak.

"_Run._"

As the word appeared in Naruto's head, black creatures began to crawl out of the abyss, their yellow eyes staring at him, wide and excited, the thrill of killing evident in their tiny minds.

Naruto needed no second warning. At once he bolted, not stopping for breath. As he ran, glass tiles appeared at the side of the platform, leading upwards.

The shadows began to creep after him, gliding gracefully through the ground like large spiders.

Naruto skidded to a halt on fourth platform. Before he could turn back, the glass path disintegrated, leaving him again stranded. Again, three figures were on this platform. A blue haired man, with an X shaped scar across his face, yellow eyes staring coldly up at the sky, a pale blue claymore type blade held in one hand. Opposite him was a raven haired man with streaks of grey, and eye patch covering one of his cruel amber eyes. In both hands he held a weird bow like weapon, with small arrows sticking out the heads. Between both of them lay a silver haired man, whose eyes were closed, his hands held high as if in prayer, glowing blades strapped to his belt.

'_The closer you get to the light… The longer your shadow grows…_'

Naruto froze. Slowly, he turned, his eyes wide in expectation. His own shadow had doubled in size, and was writhing violently like an angered snake.

'…_If you stop your journey, the darkness shall consume you.'_

Naruto stepped back, falling to the ground, his jaw wide, fear filling up his cerulean blue eyes.

A gigantic black creature towered over him, a veil like substance covering its huge body, sun-coloured pupil-less eyes staring down blankly at him.

'_But do not be afraid.'_

The creature raised a large fist.

'_You carry a light within you.'_

A fire burned around Naruto, revolving until forming a circular shape. The two red chakrams landed beside Naruto. Panicking, he grabbed them, then scurried to the edge of the platform, only to look down towards the bottomless chasm.

'_And do not forget…_'

Naruto turned to confront the creature. Darkness was seeping out its oversized body, flooding the glass platform.

'… _You have a part to play in this story.'_

**000000000000**

**I may get through this yet! HOO-RAH! Please review! I'll wait till I get 10 reviews till I post the next chapter, just so I know ya'll are thinking bout' me. Teehee!**

**Oh, and Marluxia's scythe wasn't their for a reason. Also, I'm going to base Naruto's character off Axel in this story, so expect some lines like 'Got it memorised?' and 'Bet cha' don't know why the sun set's red.' Love Axel's character, he's awesome!! REVIEW!!**


	3. Flames and Flowers

**Part III-Flames and Flowers**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Kingdom Hearts, or any Anime/Game/Manga. All rights are reserved for the author/designers of the respective manga/game.**

* * *

"Brat."

Naruto felt a slight rapping upon his head, but shrugged it off, still engrossed in sleep. Had it all been a dream. The spiralling flames, the glass floors, the tests… The shadows. Dream or not, he felt exhausted.

"Brat." The voice was a little louder, the rapping increasing in strength. "That's it** Thunder**!"

Suddenly, a jolt of pure electricity seeped through Naruto's body, flooding through his nerves causing him to leap back into reality.

Marluxia was leaning over him, glaring slightly. "It's about time you woke up. You're the only person I've seen who's been in there for ten minutes."

"_Ten Minutes_?!" cried Naruto, astounded. He thought he'd been there for hours. Had time passed differently in that world?

"Have you been given an alignment? Or are you planning on making my job very _very _hard."

Naruto looked down at his hands, remembering the heat which seared through them, filling up his minds with thoughts of wonder and hope. At once, a flame flickered in his palm, only for a few seconds, before spiralling outwards, and taking a metal form.

Marluxia's eyes widened in faint surprise. He raised a single feathery eyebrow at the red and silver chakram which Naruto held in his hand. "I knew you were like Axel in more ways than one, but choosing his alignment." He locked eyes with Naruto. "Honestly I expected you to choose the Axe-Sword. A power-hungry brat like you seems to fit its bill."

"Hey! I was _going_ to choose it, but the thing threatened me!" cried Naruto.

"Are you an idiot? No, you are an idiot, but that's beside the point, you chose _fire_ over _earth_? Which one do you find more threatening boy?!"

The boy blushed in embarrassment. "It was an accident."

Marluxia's eye twitched. "I will not ask. Go to sleep, brat." He slowly began to disappear. "I warn you; tomorrow I train you as if I was your arch-enemy. Expect no mercy."

XXX

"Number Eight has awakened." Muttered one of the cloaked figures.

Seven figures sat in a blindingly white room, a huge emblem emblazoned on the centre of the circle in which they sat.

"Nothing, Space, Wind, Ice, Earth, Illusion, Moon…" the man who spoke grinned under his hood. "The new guardians are all but complete. We must first get Eleven and Eight to join us."

"_Nine, Ten, Twelve and Thirteen must still be sleeping…_" another figure wheezed. He spoke as though speaking from a respirator. "_We must find their hosts…_"

"All in good time…" one male figure chortled. "It's too risky to make ourselves seen yet. The Organisation must take its time to recover before revealing itself."

"Like the reconstruction of the Castle That Never Was and 'fixing' any threats?" a female voice asked.

"_Precisely._" The respirator sounding man wheezed.

"We all share the united goal. Resurrect our predecessors. If Eleven if alive, it can mean only one thing."

'_She has been working again…'_

One man laughed. "But her plans didn't go well eh? Eight didn't choose one of the chosen elements, did he!? She won't spoil our plans."

The man who sat in a high silver chair looked up at the sky. He cupped his hands, letting a blue orb appear, surrounded by a violet aura.

All the other members silenced.

"Kingdom Hearts is not pleased." He murmured, in a lazy tone. "We need the bearer of light." The orb vanished. Slowly, he slid off his chair, standing fully erect. "You know what must be done." He then vanished into a black void.

XXX

Naruto was awoken by a blast of cold water. He was snapped out of his dreaming, coughing and spluttering.

Marluxia stood over him, smiling sadistically. Graceful Dahlia was swung over one of his shoulders, the hilt held in one hand. With the other hand, his palm was pointing at Naruto, a ball of water circling harmlessly.

"What the hell was that for?!"

He suddenly became aware of his surroundings. They were in the woods, or at least some form of forest.

"**Water.**"

His attention returned to Marluxia as a second ball of chilling water hit him in the face.

"Jeez! What the hell was that for?!"

"Do not let your attention stray from a prospective opponent. Remain vigilant. Got it memorised?" _'Oh kami, I'm beginning to sound like Axel…'_

Naruto nodded, and then got to his feet, shaking his head like a sodden dog, trying to dry his hair.

Marluxia rolled his eyes. "Summon your chakram, idiot!"

Naruto cocked his head. "Um… How?"

Marluxia stared dumbly at him. "Are you trying to tell me…" he breathed. "That you went through the entire trial _without_ learning how to summon your weapon?!"

"It's not my fault! They didn't give me a play-by-play walkthrough! I had a giant shadow thingie try to kill me!"

Marluxia sighed. "Simply imagine your weapons."

Naruto pictured the chakram's, clear and glowing in his head.

"Now simply will them to appear. Tell your heart that you want them."

Naruto was a little confused at this, but began to try his best. He imagined the bladed weapon's appearing in his hands.

At once, two flames appeared under his hand's, causing his body to jerk in alarm. The flames began to follow his movements, before turning into the circular weapon's, landing firmly in his grip.

"Good." Muttered Marluxia, without a hint of enthusiasm. "Now try to stay alive."

"Wha-?" before Naruto could voice his confusion, Marluxia had blurred into sight beneath him, scythe swung round, ready to cleave him in half. He was deliberately leaving obvious openings, and making his movements sluggish, but apart from that, he was showing no mercy.

Immediately, Naruto's instincts kicked in. He whirled the Chakram around in his hand, then wielded them in front of him, blocking Marluxia's deliberately sluggish blow.

Marluxia grinned. His memories appeared before him, as though pictures in a book. The thrill of fighting, of undermining the opponent, and of course crushing their will. But he couldn't do that to his student. Though he allowed himself some sadistic pleasure. "**Blizzard.**"

Naruto had time to gasp as an ice crystal slammed into his stomach, chilling him to the bone and knocking the wind out of him. "What the hell was that for…?" he breathed.

"Keep your guard up. If this were a real fight, my attack would have punctured a hole in your chest. Keep that in mind."

Naruto grimaced. With all his might, he pushed forwards, spinning the Chakram, causing Marluxia to stumble back. Naruto saw the opening, then dived in, still spinning the blade, stopping a few inches from Marluxia's side.

"Does this mean you'll teach me something?" he asked, hopefully.

Marluxia laughed. He took a step back, then began to spin the scythe in the air, in a propeller like manner. Petals began to fall, quickly carpeting the forests floor. Naruto could only stare, amazed at the scene. This amazement was quickly turned into shock, as four thick green vines shot out the ground, wrapping around Naruto's arms and legs, rendering him helpless. "You see?" said Marluxia, lowering his scythe, causing the vines to whither. "I bear the alignment of flowers, thus can change the surroundings to my advantage. Axel was known for turning the ground to molten rock, whilst surrounding his opponents in a ring of flame. Of course, fire has a much lower affect on you."

Naruto seemed to perk up at this. "You mean I can walk on fire?!"

"No you imbecile." snapped Marluxia. "While you bare a very high resistance to flames, standing on a naked flame will undoubtedly hurt you. If, however, you pass through flames quickly, the affects will rather feel like a prickle on your body."

Naruto seemed slightly disappointed, but still rather impressed. "What about those abilities you used? Like the ball of fire! Oh, and the thorn thingie!"

"That 'Thorn Thingie,' as you have dubbed it, is known as the spell Bloom. It's a simple spell which causes seeds to fly at the opponent. The seeds then grow into various offensive plants. The most common one to use is a Spore Seed, which temporarily blinds the opponent." He conjured a ball of fire in his hand. "This spell is known as Fire. Very dull, but that is its name. All spells increase in power, but require a higher cost of energy." He pointed at a tree. "**Firaga.**" A massive orb of pure white flame shot out his fingertip, incinerating the tree instantly.

"WOW!!!!" cried Naruto, his eyes going starry. "Will I be able to do that?!"

"You will be able to conjure even greater fires than this. Your fire potential is limitless, but the other elements are more difficult to control. Ice will be particularly hard for you." He flicked his hair back. "The three things I will teach you will be observation, fighting and magic."

Naruto cocked his head, an annoyed look on his face. "Observation?"

"Of course…" muttered Marluxia. "When I was a member of the Organisation, the two things members were mostly required to do was elimination of heartless, or recon. It is a hindrance to look and not see." He pointed at a nearby tree. "Look at it. Tell me what you see."

Naruto stared dumbly at the large oak. "Well… It's a tree."

"Fascinating." Muttered Marluxia, sarcasm dripping in his voice. "Let me give you some help." He returned his gaze to the oak. "I see claw marks on the bark, showing me that this wood contains some large predator. The tree trunk is thick, showing me the tree itself is old. Hollows can be seen in the higher branches, telling me some animals may rest in that tree." He looked back at Naruto. "With one glance I can tell this. All you could see was a tree. I see something far greater." He plucked a blade of grass fro the ground. "Even a tiny thing could hold something. Look underneath the underneath." The blade of glass burst into flames. "Every grain of dust could be an enemy."

Naruto nodded, as though storing the information in his head.

Marluxia rested his scythe o his shoulders. "Let us spar again. If you can land three blows on me, we'll call it a day."

XXX

"Ouch… Ouch… Ouch…" Naruto groaned as he trudged through the streets, his legs aching with every movement. Marluxia had shown no mercy. He had managed to land three blows… After five hours of non-stop practise. In that time, Marluxia had clobbered him with the staff of his scythe, and blasted him constantly with a variety of spells, ranging from ice to wind. He had been told that thirteen elements existed, and thus thirteen spells existed. Some other magic could be found, but it was not recognised officially among the Organisation.

As he was lost in thought, a cry brought him back to reality. "Scoop up some fresh sea-salt ice-cream!"

A merchant stood next to small cart. He was smiling happily, waving the frosty treats like some kind of miracle food. From his light complexion and narrow eyes, Naruto could tell he wasn't from the elemental countries. By the looks of him, he must have come from the Eastern Continent far past the borders of Wind.

Suddenly he caught Naruto's gaze, and grinned. He was around nineteen, and appeared new to the job. "Want to buy some? Only fifteen Ryu for a twin stick!"

Naruto bit his lip, then pulled out the small Gama-chan from his pocket, beginning to search through the small copper coins. "Erm… Fifteen ryu… Here you go!" he handed over the money, claiming his small sugary treat.

"Thanks kid!" said the merchant. "Remember to be on the lookout for 'WINNER' sticks. Come back with one to claim a fabulous prize!"

Naruto mumbled a faint thanks, then began to walk away.

Unseen, the ice-scream salesman grinned. "Found him."

Naruto broke apart the two ice-cream's, then began to suck on one, staring down at the other with mild disinterest. "Maybe I should just eat it later?" he mumbled to nobody.

Suddenly, his eye caught a lone boy, sitting out on a wooden gangplank overlooking the lake. A sorrowful look adorned his calm face.

Naruto tried to ignore him, but that pouting face acted like a magnet. Groaning, he skidded down the small grass hill, and walked out onto the gangplank, mumbling to himself.

The boy didn't notice him till Naruto sat down right beside him. He cast a coal black eye in his direction, then returned to gazing at the sunset.

His attention returned to Naruto, when he held out a blue stick of ice-cream, which was dripping slightly in the evening heat. Naruto himself was eating one, smiling lightly.

"Is that… For me…?" asked Sasuke, cautiously.

"No, it's for the air." Muttered Naruto. He grinned at the boy. "I'm Naruto."

Slowly, the boy of equal age snatched the stick, then popped it in his mouth. A small scowl appeared on his face. "It's salty." Then his face relaxed. "But sweet too…"

Naruto grinned, then promptly bit a large chunk out of his own. "So what's your name?"

The boy scowled. "Like it's your business."

"Just trying to be friendly!" said Naruto, lazily.

The boy kept scowling, allowing them to sit in silence for a few moments. "Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto grinned. "Nice to meet ya Sasuke!"

No more words were said after that. Both eight-year olds simply sat their in silence, watching the sun set.

XXX

Naruto began to pant. He hadn't remembered when he'd come into this world, or how long he'd been running. All he knew was, stopping meant death.

Before he could make a sharp turn, a figure wearing a long black coat with a large hood appeared in front of him. The figure chuckled, pulling down the hood, revealing him to be the Eastern man from earlier.

His long dark hair was tied up in a pony-tail, and his narrow eyes were so tightly shut, it looked like they were closed. "Hello, Eight-kun." He said, brightly.

Naruto took a step back. "E-Eight? What are you talking about?! My name is Naruto!"

The man chuckled, then held out his arm. A book appeared in his hands. The pages were greatly worn, as though hundreds of years old, but the man seemed to understand it perfectly. "My name is Xhat. Most of my letters have been discarded due to complication." He opened one of his eyes slightly, revealing a dark red pupil. "So Naruto… You aren't a Nobody… Yet you are one of the chosen… How interesting."

Naruto took a step back. Instantly, the chakram appeared in his hands.

"Ohoho! So you are a chosen! I knew it! Xigai owes me some munny!" he snapped the book shut, then folded it under his arm. "I will see you again Naruto. Expect me." A dark void appeared behind him, which he stepped back too. He opened his eyes slightly, revealing the red irises. They began to glow in the inky black darkness, before vanishing along with the void.

At once, Naruto woke up. He was in his flat.

Marluxia was sitting cross-legged on the couch, his eyes closed, and a meditative look about him.

Naruto sighed, then collapsed back onto the bed. As he did so, the rough springs dug into his back. "Ouch…" he groaned, anime tears falling from his face.

Unknown to him, the man from his dream, Xhat, was sitting on the roof of his flat block, staring at the moon silently, his red eyes open fully.

A dark cylinder appeared beside him, and another hooded figure walked out.

"Yo, Nexim." He muttered, without looking round.

The new figure lowered the hood, revealing a lightly tanned face. Snow white hair draped down to his shoulders, and his eyes were purest topaz. "You came into contact with Number Eight?" he asked, a steely calm in his voice.

"Yeah. Do you expect any less of me?" he summoned the dusty lexicon, then began to flip through the pages, examining the undecipherable runes. "He isn't a Nobody."

Nexim raised a clear eyebrow in interest. "He isn't a Nobody? This is unexpected. What of Eleven?"

"Ah… That is where we enter a grey area."

Nexim closed his eyes. "Please do not fail us, Xhat. Uxato is becoming frustrated by all the changes we've had to make in our schedule."

Xhat shrugged. "Have the Corridors of Darkness been extended?"

Nexim gave himself a rare smile. "The Dusks are constructing the tunnels as we speak. It would be far easier and faster to get hold of a Gummi ship, but they are too expensive and rare."

Xhat shrugged. "I'll wait here then. Don't bother making a corridor for me yet. Just come and get me when it's ready."

The tanned man shrugged, then walked back into the Corridor. "Goodbye, Xhat."

* * *

**Yay! Chapter, OVER-AND-OUT! Should I go straight ahead with the time-skip, or put a little more detail into Naruto's childhood? I dunno… Oh, I need a Beta, so let me know if you're interested! Thanks!**


	4. Magic and Lies

**Part IV-Magic and Lies**

* * *

_Four years after Marluxia's rebirth…_

The blonde boy began to hum lightly as he walked into the bathroom. He dipped his fingers in the colourless gel, and then began to slick his hair back in front of the mirror, giving his hair a porcupine like appearance. He quickly washed his hands, dipped his finger in a purple substance, which he trailed under his eyes in an upside-down cone shape. The merchant who sold it claimed that it enhanced vision, far better than any contact lenses or spectacles.

After he'd examined himself in the mirror the boy slung his black coat over his shoulders, then zipped it up, and pulled on his ebony gloves. He'd found a tailor, and using a small **Illu **spell, had managed to convince the shop-keeper he was over twenty and required a black coat. It resembled Marluxia's down to the finest detail, and even included, as he described it, the 'awesome hood'.

Standing in the centre of the living room, he looked down at his gloved hands, and grinned. He suddenly shot both his arms out to his side, giving him a T styled stance. Flames appeared in his palms, which began to spiral, folding out into two identical circular blades. He grinned. "I've still got it!"

"Are you done showing off?"

At the sound of the voice Naruto jumped in fright only to see Marluxia floating behind him looking cross.

"You finally get the hang of a simple Illu spell and you're going to be late on your gradation day." He muttered. "In the Organization, they'd send Dusks after you if you were late by even the seconds."

Naruto sighed. "Come on… I spent ages practicing that spell! I don't really have a knack for illusions you know!"

"Oh, I do know…"

"Oi… Is that an insult?"

Marluxia landed softly on the apartment floor. "I'd hurry if I were you. Those who are late get disqualified, remember."

"Crap!" muttered Naruto. He quickly grabbed a piece of toast lying on the table and leapt out the window, landing roughly on the ground causing some passers-by to scream at the sudden arrival hooded boy. He then began to run towards the academy.

Marluxia sighed. Slowly he raised his arm, summoning a black void. He narrowed his eyes. This world was further than the Corridors of Darkness stretched, so how could he summon one so easily?

This however did not stop him from walking into it.

XXX

Naruto lunged at the wooden door, knocking it down with all his force. He and the wooden make-shift board landed heavily on the classroom floor. He grinned. "Safe!!"

Iruka, the teacher of Naruto's class, winced slightly. Behind him, the assistant teacher, Mizuki, smirked. "Congratulations for making it on time Naruto. But I'm afraid the broken door will go on your record."

Naruto began to laugh nervously as he got to his feet. "Sorry Iruka-sensei. I just LOVE sleeping…"

Some members of the class began to laugh, mostly at his expense.

"Fine… Just get to your seat Naruto."

The blonde continued to laugh sheepishly, a nervous grin still on his face. He began to walk down the rows, fitting into place beside a raven haired boy of equal age.

"Yo, Sasuke," said Naruto, waving and grinning goofily.

Sasuke looked back at him, and smirked. "Great entrance as usual, Naruto."

As the boy's began to talk, two girls sitting exactly three rows behind began to seethe.

Naruto suddenly began to laugh and took his seat, obviously having made a joke to himself.

"Why is that Naruto-baka so close to Sasuke-kun?!" groaned a cherry-haired girl.

The platinum blonde who sat beside her nodded in agreement, "Sasuke-kun is sooo cool! And Naruto's a dope! I don't get it, why do they always hang out together?!"

The two continued their little tirade until Iruka stood up, and looked down at a clip-board. "Okay guys, today's the Ninja Academy Graduation test. Three portions exist in the test; physical, mental and practical. First will be the written test, then a sparring and accuracy test, and finally a test on the standard Academy Jutsu. Each of these counts for a third of your grade."

All the students groaned. Naruto slumped on the desk, tears streaming from his eyes. "I hate written tests… Kami-sama hates me…"

Sasuke smirked. "Shut up, dobe."

Naruto muttered an insult under his breath before gaping, horrified, at the test in front of him.

"By throwing three eighty gram kunai at a target twenty meters away at the trajectory of 51 degrees, how long will it take for the kunai to hit the target…?" Naruto paused, slumping onto the desk. "I am so dead."

XXX

The written tests were quickly collected after forty minutes had passed. Naruto had managed to complete a grand total of five out of thirty questions.

Luckily, what Naruto lacked in brain, he made up for pure destructive prowess.

Five training dummies lay in wait outside, their short meaningless lives soon to end in flames. Literally.

Of course, hitting the dummies was easy. But getting a solid blow was hard. The dummies wore protective vests to prevent any damage to the breast area, and wore helmets to protect the forehead. This made scoring a lot harder. Of course, using certain types of Jutsu to increase the power of the weapons was allowed.

This was where Naruto came into the equation. When it was his turn, he began to flex his arms, and held both hands out. When Iruka handed him the five kunai, instructing him to 'Deal a critical blow on at least one dummy to earn a high score'

Naruto grinned at this. He stood at the side of the course, and began to run. As he passed each dummy and hurled the kunai, he muttered '**Fire**' under his breath. At this, the kunai caught alight, instantly igniting the dummies on contact.

He scored 10/10.

Following this part of the test was the skill test, which involved utilising the henge and kawarimi technique in front of the whole class, and then performing the bushin technique in private. As Marluxia had trained Naruto, the blonde had never managed to control his chakra, and thus relied on Magic, impulse, and a lot of fire to win his fights. This was where the Illu spell came in. By casting a simple spell with the illusion element, he could create a few copies of himself easily.

The class had all lined up, ready to perform the three basic Jutsu. Sasuke, being the person that Naruto knew, was first. He stood in front of Iruka, and then preformed a single hand-seal. "**Henge.**"

At once in a poof of smoke, Sasuke's features warped. He suddenly had turned into a living copy of Mizuki-sensei.

Iruka nodded, obviously impressed, and then began to write some comments on the clipboard.

The line moved along slowly, and again, Naruto went last. He grinned slightly at Iruka, and then preformed a wake handseal. (Magic does not require handseals, mainly the users focus and imagination) "Henge." He then muttered under his breath. "**Illu…**"

He was also surrounded in smoke, which blew away to reveal a perfect copy of Iruka himself. The real Iruka blinked, and smiled. "Wow Naruto. I'm impressed! You usually have a lot of trouble with chakra control."

Naruto laughed nervously. Marluxia would probably be smug for years to come due to this. The only reason he'd learnt Illu now was because he'd begged to be taught it. He knew seven magic's out of the thirteen; Fire, Aero, Bloom, Quake, Stop, Lune and now Illu. Out of these seven, he knew four level two spells, and two level 3 spells.

"Right, now just do the replacement…"

Naruto bit his tongue. This was the bit he'd been dreading. He might have managed to pull it off, but of course he would need to be oh-so very smart. Again, this would require magic.

For this particular incident he would be required to use two of the 13 elements, and one unofficial spell; Hastega.

Narrowing his eyes he looked towards the desk, and focused on a clip board lying there.

"**Illu…** **Hastega…**" faster than the eye could see, Naruto was surrounded by a short illusion, which made it seem that the clipboard had switched places with Naruto. In actual fact, Naruto had conjured the illusion of this, then, with inhuman speed brought on by the haste spell, used a quick **aero** to send the clipboard over to the spot he originally occupied.

This was flawed. Greatly. But no one seemed to notice.

Naruto grinned at Sasuke as he walked smugly towards him. "Jealous?"

"Like hell…" muttered Sasuke without looking at him, instead looking out of the window.

"Oi! Don't ignore me when I'm gloating!" yelled Naruto.

Iruka let out a sigh. Though exact opposites, Naruto and Sasuke seemed to be the best of friends, even if they didn't seem like it.

"Right… Now for the bushin test. I'm going to call you all in by order of name, so please remain here until I or Mizuki come and collect you." He then nodded at Shino Aburame, who adjusted his deep sunglasses, then stood up and followed him out the room.

Naruto let out a deep sigh, and then leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes lazily. "If it were my choice, I'd just sleep all day. When do ninja get vacations?"

Sasuke cast an onyx black eye in his direction. "We don't."

Naruto's eyes snapped open, he sat ridged. "N-no v-vacation?!" he slumped on his desk, eyes wide, whimpering like a beaten puppy.

Shino came back quickly, and the next student was called out. This process continued, the students returning, some waving the headbands joyfully, others sulking without saying anything. Sasuke went out just before Naruto, and then came back quickly with a headband, now wrapped around his forehead. He glanced at Naruto. "Don't fail, dobe."

Naruto laughed. "I don't plan to!" he then walked smugly out, meeting Iruka in the corridor.

"Oh, Naruto! You're up next."

The blonde grinned. "I know! And I'm gonna become a ninja today!"

Iruka smiled, caringly at the young boy. Such an energetic, fun loving boy couldn't possibly… He shook the thought out of his head. Naruto was Naruto. That was all there was to it.

Mizuki smiled at Naruto as he entered the room. His mask worked perfectly, even Iruka believed that he genuinely cared for the boy. Of course, he could never care for a demon. The boy was simply a stepping stone for his goals.

Naruto stood in the middle of the small room, and then glanced towards Iruka and Mizuki.

"In your on time Naruto."

The boy grinned. "**Illu…**"

Slowly, like a mist rising from the ground, four Naruto clones appeared around him, all standing parallel to the original. When Naruto moved, they moved in the exact same motion, like puppets attached to a string.

Iruka nodded, impressed. "Well done Naruto."

Mizuki narrowed his eyes. He wrote something quickly on the clipboard, then showed it too Iruka. The scarred man raised an eyebrow. "Naruto. Why didn't you perform any handsigns for that technique?"

The boy blinked. "Um… Well, I am very talented-"

Iruka closed his eyes. "This can't be seen as the standard academy Jutsu. Naruto, I'm afraid you fail."

The boy's jaw dropped. "Y-you… You are joking, right?!"

Iruka shook his head. "The test states you need to perform the academy bushin Jutsu. You have constructed a perfectly acceptable technique, but the fact remains, you haven't preformed the academy jutsu."

Naruto blinked, opened and closed his jaw like a fish, then grit his teeth. "Very well… Will that be all, sensei…?"

Iruka frowned sadly. "I am sorry Naruto."

Before he could say another word, Naruto vanished in a circle of flames.

XXX

Naruto threw the small rubber ball again, breaking another dish lined up on the mantle. As it bounced back, he caught it. He was sitting against the wall, curled up like a hedgehog, a gloomy aura surrounding him.

At that moment, a Corridor of Darkness appeared in the kitchen, revealing Marluxia, looking rather flustered.

He then spotted Naruto, who was still surrounded by a cloud of gloom. "I may hate myself for asking; but are you alright?"

Naruto looked at him, his eyes watery. "I f-f-f…"

"You failed?"

Tears burst from Naruto's eyes like a fountain. "I hate stupid tiny rules! I did the thing right but I did it wrong!"

"That makes no sense, idiot."

Before Naruto could reply, there was a knock at his door. The blonde let out a sigh, then opened the entrance. Mizuki stood there, smiling slightly. "Naruto, may I come in?"

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Uh… Sure, I guess…"

He stepped aside, letting the silver haired teacher walk in. He glanced around the apartment, a look of distaste flashing on his face, only for a second. The unseen Marluxia saw this.

"So what do you want, sensei?" muttered Naruto, as he walked over to the fried, taking out a can of cola.

Mizuki smiled. "To be honest, I thought Iruka was being quite harsh. You did do a proper clone technique, so you really should have passed." His eyes flashed. "I do know a way you can pass the exam without the worries of a simple bushin." He smiled slyly. "Do you know of the Hidden Hokage scroll?"

Naruto cocked his head. "Never heard of it."

Mizuki grinned. "There's a secret extra credit test. If you can steal the scroll without getting caught, and learn a Jutsu from the scroll before someone catches you, you pass. No questions asked."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, but allowed a smile to come to his face.

'_Recon rule No. 1: Look underneath the Underneath.'_

"That's great Mizuki-sensei! I don't suppose you could help me with this?"

Mizuki laughed. "I really shouldn't even be telling you this Naruto. But as you are my favourite student, I'd be glad to help."

'_Recon Rule No. 4: In order to gain, something of equivalent value must be lost. This is definite.'_

"If you go out to the woods, you'll find a clearing surrounded by Maple trees. If you study the scroll there, I'm sure you'll get some inspiration!"

Naruto nodded, one of his eyes flickering towards Marluxia, who had both his arms folded.

'_Recon Rule No. 7: Trust is a lie.'_

XXX

Getting into the Hokage's tower was easier than expected. Naruto simply had to scale the wall, and slip in through the open window. The scroll had been described by Mizuki as, to quote, 'Big and golden'. Being in the Hokage's office, the man who ruled over and protected the greatest ninja village of the five, that seriously narrowed things down (Sarcasm implied…)

But sure enough, Marluxia pointed out the large cylinder leaning against the Hokage's desk.

"Bingo." Muttered Naruto, as he picked it up, then strapped it to his waist with a leather belt.

"Remind me, oh-so-clever one…" Marluxia said, dryly. "Why are we partaking in this obvious trap? Did I teach you that badly, are you using that thing you call a brain? If so, I'd advise against it."

"Was that an insult?"

"No, I'm saying this is a stroke of genius. You deserve a medal."

Naruto grunted and stepped onto the window frame. At that moment the door opened, and an old man walked in. Halting abruptly at the sight of Naruto, he let out a small gasp. "N-Naruto? W-why do you have the forbidden scroll?"

Naruto sighed clapping his hands together in an apologetic position. "Forgive me later!" he then vanished in a circle of flames.

Marluxia, unseen, sighed, and then stared at the gaping third Hokage. He too then vanished in a circle of petals

A few miles off, Naruto landed in the forest, directly in the Maple-clearing. Flexing his muscles and sitting on the ground cross-legged, he spread opened the scroll and examined its contents.

Marluxia appeared beside him, hovering in the air a few feet above. "Are you going to tell me what's on your microscopic mind?"

"Do you always have to insult me?" snapped Naruto. "I'm taking your advice. If you want to cook a frog, by instantly boiling a pot, it will jump out. But if you slowly cook it, gradually increasing the heat…"

"… The frog will boil, I know. But what has that got to do with it?"

Naruto grinned, his eyes not moving from the scroll. "If I exposed Mizuki for a fake, no one would believe me. But if I have proof..." he suddenly tapped the scroll, a grin fully forming on his face. "Aoichishio." (Blue-Blood)

Marluxia landed beside him, examining the description and pictorial demonstration of the technique. "Considering you do not use chakra, this technique is rather advanced."

"I suppose so… But," He stood up, flexing his fingers, then performing a single handseal. "It fits with me."

XXX

Iruka silently moved through the forest. Naruto wouldn't do this. Not Naruto. Not the goofy little troublemaker who blew things up when he was mad. He would never steal a scroll deemed forbidden… On purpose at least.

Iruka suddenly heard a rustling, before landing in a clearing. Naruto was sitting there, cross-legged, the scroll opened wide in front of him, his eyes closed, and hands in a single seal.

"Naruto…?"

The boy opened one eye, glancing at his teacher. "Hey, Iruka-sensei!"

"T-that…? Naruto, why do you have the forbidden scroll?!"

Naruto got to his feet beating the dust of his black coat. "Mizuki-sensei told me I'd get an instant pass if I stole the scroll and learned a Jutsu before getting caught." He winked.

Iruka opened his jaw, but then closed it slightly, letting it hang. "M-Mizuki told you that?"

Marluxia began to float on his back, as if in an invisible hammock. "Someone is heading this way. Fast."

"…Naruto. Mizuki lied to you. You won't get pass by stealing property of the Hokage, that will earn you an exile!"

That caught Naruto by surprise. "E-exile?!"

"Don't listen to him Naruto!" Mizuki had appeared in the trees, two large shuriken strapped to his back. "Iruka has a grudge against you. I wouldn't put it past him to have any excuse to attack you."

Iruka spun round, glaring at the grey haired man, before glancing back at Naruto.

Naruto's eyes were wide, real surprise on his face.

"N-Naruto, I…"

"Iruka's always hated you Naruto! Give me the scroll now!"

Iruka returned his glare towards Mizuki. "Shut up! You don't know a thing about Naruto!"

Mizuki chuckled. "I know him as well as everyone else. Everyone hates Naruto. Especially you. So many hate him." He laughed. "Naruto, you don't know why people hate you do they? Why they shun you? Why they don't let you near them? Why they attack you? Do you want to know?!"

"No Mizuki! It's forbidden!!!"

Marluxia summoned Graceful Dahlia, and then rested it on his shoulders, his eyes fixed on Mizuki.

"Naruto, twelve years ago when the Kyuubi no Kitsune attacked, the Yondaime killed the demon, right? That is a lie." He pointed at Naruto, a smug smile on his face. "He sealed it inside a newborn baby. That baby…"

"Mizuki, no!!! Don't!" Iruka pleaded, hopelessly.

"… Was you Naruto Uzumaki! YOU ARE THE KYUUBI NO KITSUNE."

* * *

**Writers block = Bad mood**

**Bad mood = Thoughts of Oblivion**

**Thoughts of Oblivion = Emo-mode**

**Emo-Mode = Ice cream!! **

**Press that button! Review!!**


	5. Blue Flames

**Blue Flames**

* * *

"I… Am the Kyuubi…?" whispered Naruto, his eyes widened slightly.

Mizuki grinned, removing one of the fuuma shuriken strapped to his back. "It's time to repent for your sin Naruto. No one will mourn over you death. Now stand still and it will all end quickly."

Naruto looked down, his eyes dark. Slowly, a small grin crept onto his face. "Heheh… Ha-ha… HAHAHAHAHA!!" Naruto began to roar with laughter, his head shooting up, eyes locking with Mizuki's.

"That's pretty pathetic sensei. You honestly expect me to believe such a load of trash? And of course, you seem to be under the delusion you can defeat me." He held out his arms in a pleasant shrug. "Well, you are a chunin. I admit that. But…" his eyes flashed. "I am a Nobody." He thrust his arm towards Mizuki, palm held open. "**Fire!**" at once, a ball of flame shot towards Mizuki, who dodged instantly.

"Don't get cocky, brat!!" he flung the weapon forwards.

"NARUTO!" Iruka, who'd watched the display silently, too shocked to make a move, suddenly came into play, diving in front of his student, letting the shuriken hit him dead on in the back. With a sickening crack, Iruka screamed as the shuriken lodged itself in his spinal cord. Naruto only noticed when Iruka's scream met his ears.

"Iruka-sensei…? Why?" breathed Naruto.

Iruka smiled, stumbling slightly. "Naruto… Mizuki doesn't lie… You do have the demon inside of you…" a little blood trickled from his mouth. "My parents were killed by the fox… And I always hated you for it… But…" tears formed in his eyes. "… I can see you're just Naruto Uzumaki. You are no Demon… Naruto…"

Before he could do anything his teacher slump forwards face down, whimpering slightly.

Mizuki cursed and drew another shuriken. "That fool. Always looking out for the students."

Naruto stared down at Iruka, and then looked up at Mizuki. "Sensei… Now I really have a reason to kill you…" His eyes seemed to ripple. Poetically, it looked as though a flame was burning in his eyes, dancing in the midnight wind. Mizuki narrowed his eyes.

"Time to die fox! **Kage-shuriken bushin no Jutsu!**" this statement was followed by the hurling of the massive fuuma-shuriken, which instantly multiplied into ten copies.

Iruka groaned, a little blood trickling from his mouth. "Run, Naruto!"

The boy didn't move, instead holding his palm out towards the oncoming projectiles. "**Burn.**"

Violently blue flames erupted in a violent circle around the clearing. The shuriken were instantly ignited, the vibrant flames instantly appearing over the metal form, melting it quickly.

Mizuki himself was shocked by this; he couldn't possibly have learned a Jutsu so powerful in such a short space of time. He then realised he was trapped I the ring of flames.

Naruto grinned, holding his arms in a T like shape. At once, a dark black ring formed at the ends of his hands, a single flame inside each ring. These began to spiral, until they expanded into his individual chakram.

"You feeling the heat, Mizuki-sensei?"

The man gritted his teeth. "Like hell, brat!" he instantly went through a flurry of hand-signs. "**Ninpou: Rasen-Konoha!**" (Ninja Art: Spiralling-Leaf)

At once, a flurry of small evergreen projectiles zoomed towards Naruto, with the force of a bullet.

Before they could even get within three meters of the blond, they burned up from the intense heat radiating from his body.

"Let's dance sensei! **Hastega!**"

Before Mizuki could blink, Naruto was behind him, his hands enveloped in flames, the chakram's spinning like saws.

"I'll break you!"

Mizuki spun round, slamming a kunai into one of the blazing weapons, blocking the attack, but singing his hand. He screamed in pain, drawing back, only for Naruto to knee him in the chest. "You've hurt my teacher… You've called me a demon…"

Mizuki groaned, only to be kicked swiftly to the ground of the clearing.

Naruto landed beside him, the flames dying down slightly. Mizuki locked eyes with Naruto, only to see them sparking, as if the irises themselves were flames. Sparks were dancing in his pupil's, like a small firework. Naruto held his hand over Mizuki's chest. "I'm going to destroy you! I'LL DESTROY YOU!! **FIR-"**

"Naruto…"

The boy stopped the incantation, to see Iruka, staring pitifully up at the blond. "Don't kill him…"

Naruto's eyes widened. "B-but he…!"

Marluxia nodded. "Respect his wishes Naruto…"

The fire-user's gloved fist bawled up, before he let his arms slump to his side, and dispersed his chakram.

Mizuki suddenly laughed. "Hahaha! Go back and lick your wounds fo-"

He was shut up as Naruto slammed his boot into the older man's chin, knocking him out.

The boy then set to work on Iruka. "Please hold still, sensei…" he grasped the fuuma shuriken, and then gave it a tug, pulling it out the man's body.

Iruka screamed as the cool metal was drawn from his skin, the blood now trickling down his back.

"Don't move…" murmured Naruto. He held his hand over the wound, and then closed his eyes. "**Curaga.**"

At once, the injury began to close up, being healed instantly by the miraculous spell.

Iruka groaned and rolled over onto his back. "Naruto… T-thanks…"

The blond looked at the now rising sun. "Iruka-sensei… Do I really have the fox inside of me?"

The scarred man looked at the boy for a second and sat up. "Close your eyes."

"But-"

"Just close them!" Naruto did so. Suddenly, he felt the texture of some sort of felt being wrapped around his head. As his eyes opened, he saw Iruka, without his headband, smiling at Naruto. "Congratulations, Naruto-kun. You're now an official ninja of Konoha…"

XXX

Sasuke raised his eyebrow as Naruto strode into the class, a huge grin on his face.

"What are you doing here, idiot? I thought you failed."

Naruto stuck out his tongue and pointed to the belt-style headband, the Konoha symbol shining brightly.

"I took a make-up test." Snapped Naruto, but the grin on his face signified that he wasn't seriously angry at Sasuke.

He sat down beside the raven haired boy, and began to have a one-sided conversation with him, Sasuke's only responses being slight grins and sharp glares.

A few rows behind, a navy-haired girl was staring longingly at the blond, a dreamy smile on her face. "N-Naruto-kun passed…" she breathed, relief apparent in her voice.

Meanwhile, two girls, one with platinum blond hair, the other with cherry pink, were running towards the class, both pressing into each other, eager to beat the other.

As they came to the door, they both tried to barge in, resulting in them both getting stuck.

Naruto noticed this, and sent the pair a rather amused look which they didn't notice.

When they finally managed to barge in, both grinned. "HAH! I BEAT YOU INO-PIG!" cried the pink-haired one.

"NO WAY, FOREHEAD GIRL! I BEAT YOU BY MILES!"

"YOU WANNA BET, INO-PIG?! I was here first, so I get to sit with Sasuke-kun!"

"Keep dreaming girl,**_ I_** get to sit with Sasuke!"

At this point a group of girls had begun to crowd around the other two, every one of them arguing about who would sit next to their beloved Sasuke.

The blond jinchuriki whistled. "Whoo, Sasuke, you're popular."

"Shut up."

Naruto flashed a grin. "By the way, d'ya wanna get some Ice Cream later?"

The Uchiha cast an onyx black eye at Naruto. "The usual spot?"

"Duh."

This interaction caused the group of girls to gather at the end of the desk where the two boys sat, and send a united glare at Naruto.

"UZ-U-MA-KI…" droned Sakura (the girl with cherry pink hair)

The blond cast one eye in their direction. "Yes? If it's not anything important, please leave."

This caused a united shiver to tingle in the females. Though he may not look it, the entire class knew Naruto was a very dangerous student, if not an all-out-pyromaniac.

Ino, who happened to be a bit braver than the rest, spoke up. "Move it Naruto, I get to sit next to Sasuke!"

Naruto's next move infuriated the platinum blond; he ignored her and continued talking to Sasuke.

Before she could leap onto the whiskered boy, Iruka walked into the class, carrying the new team roster.

"Alright everyone, settle down! We've matched up the teams into an order which we thought would suit. Every team will be in a three man cell, consisting of two males and one female or vice versa. Is that clear?"

"A three man cell?" whispered Sasuke.

Naruto chuckled. "Basically means we need to use teamwork. A two man cell can be risky if fighting patterns don't fit, and a four-man cell is harder to promote team-work."

"Team Six is Natsu Yoshino, Rika Masashi, and Katsura Akira. Your sensei will be Asura Ryuga."

Iruka looked at the next name on the list, and smiled lightly. "Team Seven will be Sasuke Uchiha…"

Nearly every girl who had not been put in a team looked up, hope in their eyes.

"… Sakura Haruno…"

The pink-haired girl punched the air. "YAHOO! LOVE CONQUERS ALL!!"

"… And Naruto Uzumaki."

The blond groaned. "I'm stuck with you till I'm a chunin? Kami hates me…"

"I hope he does, you put me in enough trouble as it is. You deserve god's hate."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Marluxia had appeared, smiling smugly. Though no one in the class could see him, his ego seemed to increase the pressure in the room dramatically.

Of course, Naruto couldn't talk to him in public, as that would make him appear far more freaky than he actually was (And he was rather freaky anyway, what with the green make-up and spiked up hair!)

"I have an interesting ability you might find useful. I'll teach it to you after you've met your team." A small smile appeared on his face.

Naruto decided to ignore the graceful assassin, instead listening in on the other teams.

"Team 8 will be Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga. Your sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. He'd heard of the ebony haired jonin before, who gained her reputation of being a high-class genjutsu user, without the use of a bloodline such as the Sharingan.

"Team 10 will be Choji Akimichi, Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka. Your sensei will be Sarutobi Asuma." Iruka dropped the clipboard on the desk and smiled. "Congratulations all of you. Your sensei's will come and pick you guys up shortly. Your mission briefing will be held before your team's first D-ranked mission. I'll see you all then."

Sakura hurried over, and buried herself between Naruto and his friend, before chatting eagerly to Sasuke, who didn't even bat an eyelash at her.

Naruto decided to lie back, and loll into a faint sleep.

XXX

A dark portal opened at the top of the Hokage's monument, and two figures stepped out.

One was a blue haired female with violet eyes and a large bosom. She had a bored expression on her face. Her hair trailed down to her hips, shining glossily in the sun-set.

The other was a tall man with a metal jaw-like structure around his lower mouth. He had brown hair with flecks of grey and pale green eyes with red pupils.

Both wore the same black coat, which resembled Naruto and Marluxia's.

However, they were not the only ones on the monument. A raven haired man with narrow eyes and a large lexicon sat cross-legged atop the fourth-Hokage's figurehead.

"Yo, Xigai, Kuxuzak." He muttered, casting one crimson eye in their direction.

The female grinned, then suddenly summoned two crossbow-like weapons and then dashed towards the man.

He sighed, and held his hand out towards her. "**Aeroraga.**"

A huge wind, hurricane like in speed and strength, began to spiral around him, catching the girl in mid-jump and sending her cascading up into the air.

"You never learn, Xigai."

As the girl landed softly landed on the ground, she shot him a spiteful look. "Can't you let me win just once, Xhatiic?"

He snapped the book shut and folded it under his arm. "It's Xhat."

"_Stop fighting amongst yourselves, Two, Six." _Wheezed Kuxuzak. _"We are simply here to observe Naruto and Marluxia. We must rename him and recruit him."_

The raven haired nobody sighed. "How has the construction of the Castle gone? Nexim seems to be ignoring me. That really pisses me off."

"_We are nobodies, Xhatiic. We do not feel emotions such as 'pissed off'."_

Xhat nodded, and got to his feet, letting the book dissolve in a flash of white light. "Right then. Let's get started."

XXX

"Now, I may be a fresh genin, who doesn't know much about the ninja world… BUT WHAT KIND OF SENSEI TAKES TWO HOURS TO ARRIVE?!"

Sasuke cast an eye at the fuming Naruto. "He should have his reasons."

"HE'S PROBABLY JUST A LAZY GIT, WHO CAN'T BE BOTHERED!!" cried the blond.

Sakura shot Naruto a glare. "Don't insult our sensei, Naruto!" _'Though he is probably right, CHA!'_

At that moment, the door opened, and a silver haired man with a leaf forehead protector walked in, reading an Icha, Icha paradise volume. He cast his one eye towards the three genin. "You team seven?"

A flaming chakram an inch from his face was his response.

Naruto stood on his seat, one foot planted on the desk, the kanji for 'PISSED' emblazoned on his head.

As the man went to tear the thing out of the wall, it disappeared in a small burst of flame, before reappearing in the blonde's hand.

He was taken slightly by surprise at this, but remained cool headed. "So… My first impression of you guys is that I hate you. Meet me on the roof."

He disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

The blonde's eye's narrowed. "Mine's much cooler than that…" he disappeared in a plume of blue flames.

Sasuke and Sakura were silent for a moment.

"So… Do you want to walk together Sasuke-ku-"

"No." the raven haired teen vaulted the desk and ran out the door, leaving Sakura on her own.

'_YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER, CHA!'_

XXX

Kakashi couldn't help but stare with a bored expression at his newly formed team of genin.

A raven haired boy who was glaring impassively at the jonin, a squealing fan-girl who was cooing over the raven-haired boy, and a blond who just looked like he couldn't be bothered with anything beyond himself.

"Right… You guys are team seven, under me, your jonin sensei, Kakashi Hatake. So to start, let's get to know each other. Tell me your name, likes, dislikes, and dreams."

Sakura turned away from Sasuke to look at her teacher. "Shouldn't you give us an example, sensei?"

"Alright. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I like some things, and dislike other things. My dreams…? Meh, I don't feel like telling you."

'_HE ONLY TOLD US HIS NAME!?' _the cherry-haired girl mentally screamed.

"Alright, Pinkie, you're up."

She glared, and then cleared her throat. "I'm Sakura Haruno. My likes are…" she glanced at Sasuke and giggled. "My dislikes are…" she sent a glare at Naruto, who shrugged innocently. "And my dreams…" she burst into a fit of giggles, with occasional glances at Sasuke.

Kakashi sweat dropped, and then glanced at Sasuke. "Ok, silent boy, you're up."

Sasuke folded his arms, and closed his eyes. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I have very little likes, and a lot of dislikes. I do have a dream though…. Or rather an ambition; to revive my clan… And kill a certain man."

Kakashi stared for a moment, before glancing at Naruto. "You're up, Blondie."

Naruto grinned. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like sea-salt ice cream, fire, and training. My dislikes are those who obsess over an idiotic fantasy…" he smiled sweetly at Sakura, causing her to shiver. "My dream…" he grinned. "Is to become a Nobody."

At this, Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "A Nobody?"

Sasuke glanced in Naruto's direction.

"Yes. I want to be a Nobody who has mastered all thirteen elements. I'm gonna be the best!"

The jonin closed his eye. _'A revenger, a fan-girl, and a boy who wants to be Nobody. Have I really sunk so low?'_

"Right… We'll give you guys a genin exam tomorrow at 10:00 sharp. And don't eat breakfast…" a demonic-like aura surrounded him. "I wouldn't want you throwing up…"

"You think he's being serious?" muttered Naruto, after their teacher had disappeared via shuishin.

Sasuke shrugged. "I gotta go. I'll see you at the usual place Naruto." He stood up; his hands stuffed snugly in his pockets, and walked off.

Sakura glanced at Naruto. "So… You know where Sasuke hangs out?"

Her response was Naruto grinning, and then disappearing in a swirl of blue flames.

XXX

"You know, you really should pay for this one of these days…" muttered Naruto as he handed Sasuke a stick of the cyan-blue ice cream.

Sasuke took it, and mumbled faint thanks. "So what do you think of our new sensei?"

Naruto shrugged. "He seems lazy, unmotivated and laid-back. He's probably really strong."

The raven haired boy smirked. "How the hell'd you make that impression?"

The blond shrugged, and took a bite from his ice-cream. "I dunno. It's kind of a gut feeling."

Sasuke looked out at the water from the gangplank on which they sat. The sun was setting, casting a shining light across the surface of the water.

"Hey Sasuke…" muttered Naruto, a grin forming on his face. "I'll bet you don't know why the sun-set's red."

The boy cast an eye at him.

"You see, light is made up of lots of different colours, and out of all those colours, red is the one which travels the farthest."

Sasuke smirked. "Like I asked, know-it-all."

Naruto laughed, and then gave Sasuke a shove.

This caused the raven haired teen to glare, only to break into a small fit of laughing.

The two friends sat there, eating the ice-cream, and watching the crimson orb set in the distance.

**0000000000000000000**

**Next Time: Time to Bloom**


End file.
